Portage continues to see steady activity in residential and commercial construction, despite a year-to-date decrease in building permits compared with 2024.
Chairperson of the City Planning & Economic Development Committee, Preston Meier, provides an overview of the June Portage la Prairie Planning District building report and what the numbers reveal.
“What you're going to see, obviously, is of course a decrease from where it was last year at this time and that's primarily due to the hospital,” Meier says.
He notes that last year’s institutional permits totalled roughly $247 million, which contributes to the apparent dip this year. Year-to-date there has only been one repair valued at $4,000.
Residential construction and repairs
Despite the overall decrease, Meier continues, there is encouraging activity in residential construction.
“The one thing that we get excited about is that the trend continues. For example, on residential, you're going to see that there's a number of permits there for new single housing developments. There's certainly some permits there for double or multi-use residential as well.”
Within the city of Portage, there was one permit issued in June for a single residential development valued at $597,000 bringing the total to six for 2025 worth a total value of $2,621,000. There were only five issued in 2024 worth $2,242,000.
The rural area saw two permits issued for single residential developments in June worth $610,000, bringing the rural total to 15 in 2025 worth $2,820,000.
Repair permits, while slightly down, still reflect homeowners’ willingness to invest in their properties.
“The one thing that we like to see obviously is repair and even though those permits are down, it's still a trend that tells you people are investing back into their houses," said Meier.
Commercial, industrial, and institutional activity
Commercial construction and repair also show ongoing activity.
Industrial permits remain steady, while institutional construction is largely tied to large projects like the hospital.
Meier mentions, “Institutional, again, you're not going to see that move a lot more. The hospital is the largest portion of that.”
Miscellaneous permits and overall insights
Moving-related permits, often for ready-to-move homes, reflect another aspect of local construction trends.
“Under the miscellaneous, you're going to see the moving, which means it's typically RTM's. People are moving from one location to another, so last year we did have 142 permits at this time of the year, which was roughly $311 million. This year we are at 107 for $11.3 million.”
Despite the lower overall numbers compared with last year, the city continues to see investment across residential, commercial, and repair sectors, signaling a stable construction environment for Portage in 2025.
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